God In A Box

Scripture: 2 Samuel 6:1 – 23

Title: “God In A Box”

Introduction: The Ark of the Covenant was a wooden box made of Acacia wood (shittim wood). / The Ark was the first thing God told Moses to build! (Deut. 10:1)

· The contents of the Ark was / The Ten Commandments on tablets of stone / Aaron’s Rod that budded and bore almonds / A Golden Pot of Manna. (Heb. 9:4)

· The Ark was a TYPE of Jesus / The Ten Commandments: The Law was contained in Jesus / Aaron’s Rod that budded: Once Dead & Alive again! / The Golden Pot of Manna: Daily Bread !

· The purpose of the Ark was to give POWER to those who POSSESSED it. / With Conditions! / Possession without Keeping the Requirement meant NOTHING!

· The Israelites had quickly learned that having the Ark of the Covenant with them during battles assured them of achieving VICTORY!

· The POWER of God is the GREATEST thing we can have!

· The Ark was designed to be a SYMBOL of the PRESENCE of God in the midst of His people. / (The people of the land had began to recognize this fact)

· The Ark was small, 4 x 2 x 2, but DYNAMITE comes in small packages!

MAIN POINT – “Losing the Ark” or “When God’s People Lost Their Power!”

· God’s people had LOST the Ark of the Covenant into the hands of the Philistines many, many years prior to our Scripture here because of their WICKEDNESS!

· The Israelites were being beaten by the attacking Philistines and had lost 4,000 men and they decided to go to the house of God and get the Ark of the Covenant / as sort of a ‘Lucky Charm’ to give them the victory. (1 Samuel 4)

· The Israelites were sorely defeated and lost another 30,000 men / The Ark was also taken by the Philistines. (1 Sam. 4:10)

· There was no POWER in the physical presence of the Ark WHEN the God of the Ark had been ignored. / They wanted the POWER of the Ark, but weren’t interested in the God of the Ark !

· Can you imagine God’s people being without the POWER of God for 100 yrs.?

· The people had to LEARN how to get by WITHOUT the Power of God!

· Can you imagine children being born and growing up and never experiencing the Power of God?

· The EVINDENCE of not having the Power of God is the ABSENCE of Victory!

MAIN POINT – “The Powerful Things of God In The Wrong Hands!”

· The Philistines placed the Ark in the same place as their God Dagon. / But the very next morning their god had FALLEN and was laying on its face on the ground.

· Their god was no MATCH of the Lord God!

· The Philistines began to experience Boils, Ulcers, Tumors, and Swelling in their bodies. (1 Sam. 5)

· Soon the Philistines had had enough! / They began making plans to get rid of this THING they thought they wanted, but now, COULDN’T HANDLE!

MAIN POINT – “Bring Back The Ark of the Covenant”

· 100 yrs. had passed since the loss of the Ark of the Covenant. (1 Sam. 4)

· A New King is in town / David has been anointed King over all of Israel.

· David wished Jerusalem to not only be his military & political capital, but the religious center of the nation as well.

· IT WAS TIME TO BRING the Ark back to where it belonged!

MAIN POINT – “The New Cart” / “There’s A Right Way & A Wrong Way”

· King David’s Motive was good but his Method was wrong!

· In David’s excitement he allowed his enthusiasm to run away with him!

· It is very obvious that David got the idea of using a CART to transport the Ark from the Philistines (A vicious and ungodly people). (1 Sam. 6:7 – 8)

· David’s CARELESSNESS in planning brought about tragedy! / A man died!

· When the ‘New Cart’ hit some rough road at the threshingfloor, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark and it cost him his life! (2 Sam. 6:6,7)

· Handling the POWER of God is a very special thing! / Ignorance can kill you!

· Mixing the world’s tactics with the Holy Things of God will not work! / 1 Cor. 6:14,15 “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?” NLT

MAIN POINT – “Too Hot To Handle!” / “Obededom’s Unexpected Blessing!”